


Reversed

by KirbyWrites



Series: Short Drabbles I Decided To Make [7]
Category: Hoshi no Kaabii | Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Kirby - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Gen, I made Astral hehe, Why did I think a roleswap was a good idea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-02-04 08:36:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18600928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KirbyWrites/pseuds/KirbyWrites
Summary: Kirby and Meta Knight, roleswap AU.Astral Knight is Meta's mentor, but to the child, it's something much different. On a regular picnic, when everything goes wrong, Astral protects his student and realizes what the puff has thought of him all along.





	Reversed

“Teacher Astral! Teacher, Teacher, Teacher!!” Meta exclaimed, a huge grin on his face. “Teacher Astral, what are we having for lunch?!” Astral Knight glanced away from the tomato he was cutting and upon seeing who it was, immediately blocked his preparations from his student’s sight.

 

“Meta, please,” the knight begged, pushing his mask up to the top of his head. “Lunch won’t be ready for a while, and even then, we’ll have to go somewhere before we can eat it.”

 

“Ooh! Does that mean we’re having a picnic, Teacher Astral?”

 

“Maybe, maybe not. Maybe I just need to go to the market for something, and you’ll have to tag along before we have lunch.” The blue puff deflated, his wings drooping and grazing the wooden floor of their castle apartment. Astral hated seeing Meta like that, but he didn’t want to spoil the surprise, especially since it was the puff’s birthday today. He had something planned for them both, and he didn't want a stray glance to give anything away.

 

“Fine. There’s a chocolate parfait in the fridge that you can have, but don’t make a mess on my floor. I don't want to clean up after you if you spill anything.” The blue puffball immediately perked up and ran to the fridge, shouting a “Thank you, Teacher Astral!” as he opened the fridge. The pink knight heard the sounds of the young puff busily closing the fridge and grabbing a spoon from a counter and he grinned, turning back to cutting the tomato. He finished slicing the tomato and slipped it in between the bread of a sandwich before packing it in a plastic bag and putting it into a picnic basket. Meta came back with the half-full cup in one paw and a spoon in the other, his wings fluttering with excitement as he devoured the ice cream.

 

“Thanks for the present, Teacher Astral,” the child chirped, licking a stray drop of melted ice cream from his cheek. “I really like the candy jar.” Astral hummed in response, though internally, he was laughing. Of course, Meta would love the candy jar; the puff practically lived on sweets and would eat more if he wasn’t around to curb it. The child probably thought of him as his father now. By this time, the child had sat down at the table and was watching him cook while he slowly and silently ate spoonfuls of his parfait. Astral Knight grabbed the now-full picnic basket and placed it in the depths of his Dimensional Cape. A clatter near the sink drew his attention and he whirled around to see Meta on the very tip of his feet, his face in a look of frustration and his wings trembling as he struggled to put his dirty spoon in the sink. The knight chuckled and gently took the spoon from the young puff’s hand, dropping the utensil in the sink. The child dropped back down gratefully and hugged his mentor happily, even letting out a squeak as he did so. The pink knight tentatively drew an arm around his student, as much as he didn't want to, and beckoned him to the door.

Meta cheerily followed, bouncing out of the room and latching onto Astral's back. The child's bat wings scratched against his sunset cape, and the young puff seemed to like how it gradually went from the light purple collar to red to yellow. The two started towards the hills near Whispy Woods, and though the knight didn't admit it out loud, Meta's happiness was contagious, and he found himself smiling.

 

* * *

 

 

The warm sun streaked through the blue sky and the sound of chirping birds filled the air. Meta constantly explored anything that he deemed interesting, and that was everything. Trees, birds, and squirrels all piqued his interests and Astral often had to remind him not to stray too far from his side. Finally, they reached a grassy hill and the pink knight spread out a picnic blanket, much to Meta's excitement. “Teacher Astral! We _are_ having a picnic!” He shouted, a big smile on his face.

 

“Yes, we are. Happy birthday, Meta,” Astral grinned, bringing the picnic basket out of his Dimensional Cape. The child dove into the basket as soon as it was open, his feet wriggling in the air, and pulled out a Maxim Tomato sandwich and a bottle of lemonade. By the time the young puff had pulled out a jar of chocolate, happiness was practically emanating from his body as he scarfed down his food. The pink knight lifted another sandwich out of the picnic basket and unclasped his mask to begin eating. As he was enjoying the lovely spring day, listening to the birds chirp, Meta came up to him and waved his paw in his face, causing the elder puff to flinch. Before he could say anything, the child stood on his toes and took a bite out of his sandwich.

 

“You have your own sandwich, Meta,” Astral protested. “Go eat it.”

 

“No, I don’t,” the child grinned, stealing another bit of his teacher’s sandwich. “It’s gone!”

 

“It’s only gone because you ate all of it.”

 

“And I’m still hungry, Teacher Astral! Please, can I have some of yours?”

 

“You already finished your lemonade _and_ your chocolate? Come on, Meta. You can’t have finished everything and still be hungry.” This, Astral knew to be completely false; the puff could've eaten a whole fridge’s worth of food and still be hungry, considering that his student's stomach was basically its own dimension.

 

“But I am!! Your cooking’s really good, Teacher Astral! Let me have some, _please_?”

 

“Leave me alone, Meta. Go play in Whispy Woods or something. Just come back when I call for you, okay?” The child melted in disappointment but ran off into the forest anyway. Time stretched on for hours, and Astral was enjoying the peace. The food had been finished a while ago, and he was now reading a few chapters of his favorite book uninterrupted. The pink knight had barely started on another chapter, relishing the plot of it so far, when he felt a drop on his head. Luckily, it hadn't been on his book. He looked up and saw storm clouds gathering, so he packed everything up and copied the Parasol ability just in case. As soon as the umbrella popped up, it started raining. He looked around, feeling that something was missing, but he was unable to figure out what it was. Suddenly, it struck him that Meta was still in the woods!

“Meta! Meta, come on, it's raining!” Astral shouted, a hint of worry in his voice. “Meta, you're going to get sick if you stay out here! Meta!!” There was no response from the shadow of the woods, and the knight darted through the underbrush to find his student. Under his watch, nothing would happen to Meta.

 

 

It had been a perfect day for playing- at least before the rain had started. Meta looked forlornly at the pond that he'd discovered, the fish inside frolicking in its waters, wishing that he could go back outside and play in it. But the rain was cold, the kind of cold that made you uncomfortable, and the child knew it would probably make him sick. As soon as the rain had started, he had looked frantically around the clearing for a spot he could possibly hide in. Now, he was huddled in a nearby tree cleft that could just barely shelter his body and left his wings exposed to the rain. The pounding water drops had already left them half-frozen, and the rest of his body was also becoming numb from the frigid grass. Then a strong wind blew rain into his shelter and transformed the solid ground into wet, freezing mud, making him dirty; the rain soaked every part of him and he whimpered when his paw sank into squishy mud. Cold, wet, and dirty was the worst combination of things to be for him and all that made him feel too uncomfortable to actually enjoy the rain.

“Teacher? Teacher Astral? Anyone?” Meta shouted. “Help me, please!” When his voice was drowned out by the beat of the rain, the young puff decided that help wasn't coming anytime soon and he tried to retreat further into the tree cleft to protect himself. His wings, however, refused to fit inside the tree and just trying to squeeze one in was nearly impossible due to their huge size.

The child left them outside and shivered. He didn't know when he started shivering, but he did know that it had been for a long time. Meta now yearned for his beloved teacher's warm cape and his strong arms that reassured him of how safe he was. Here, he was out in the open, and anything evil would gladly pick off a defenseless young puff for its lunch. When he heard a guttural growl and deep steps that penetrated the sound of the rain, the child froze, realizing what the sound came from. Meta saw red eyes, glowing hungrily as they spotted him through the shadow of the trees, and he cowered in fear, sinking as deep as he possibly could into the tree. He didn't really care that he got cut from the rough bark of the tree; he just wanted to escape whatever it was that was coming to eat him. The steps came closer, and the puff could make out the shape of a large wolf. “I'm sorry for going too far,” Meta whimpered to no one in particular, covering his eyes with his paws.

“I'm sorry, everyone…” He heard it- whatever it was- get ready to pounce and capture him with those huge claws, but then…   


* * *

 

 

“You stay away from Meta!” A familiar voice roared, their sword cutting into the beast's hide. Whatever it was screeched in pain, clawing desperately at the blade. The young puff looked up to see Astral pull his sword out of the wolf-thing and take a defensive position in front of him, taking good care to not step on his student's wings.

 

“Get back, you fiend, and be glad this sword hadn't gone any deeper,” the pink knight said threateningly, pointing his sword at the monster. “Leave, or I'll banish you to Another Dimension with the help of Nova, and may the Sphere Doomers give you no mercy.” The wolf-thing whined in anger of having its meal stolen, but bounded away. Astral immediately hugged Meta, dropping his sword and not caring that the puffball in question was dirty, wet, and slightly covered in blood.

 

“Meta, I'm so glad you're safe,” the warrior whispered comfortingly, wrapping him in his cape. “You had me so worried…” The child could sense his teacher shaking from tears, though they weren't obvious in the rain, still pouring down around them.

 

“It's okay, Teacher Astral,” Meta reassured, patting the knight as far up as he could.

 

“You are okay, right? You're not hurt anywhere? Are you cold? Do you need a bath? Do your wings hurt?”

 

“Just cold and dirty, Teacher Astral… My wings don't hurt, just cold and wet and kinda scratched from trying to fit them in the-”

 

“They're scratched?! You're injured?! Where?”

 

“Here!” The child proudly pointed to a cut oozing blood on his side as if the wound came from a fight. “And here-” He pointed to another cut in the membrane of his wing. “And lots of other scratches too!” The pink knight squeezed his student even harder, bringing out the Parasol ability and shielding them both from the rain. He grabbed his sword and sheathed it again; when the warrior realized just how cold Meta was, he brought his cape tighter around him and let him snuggle into his body.

 

“You're warm, Teacher Astral…” The young puff murmured. The child saw how the mud on him was rubbing off on his teacher, and he flinched a little. “Sorry for making you dirty…”

 

“It's alright, Meta. You're alright.” The pair stayed like that for a while, snuggling together under the parasol. The pink knight was focused on keeping his student- no, _son_ \- safe within his arms. Meta was just worried about absorbing as much warmth from his mentor as he could.

 

“We should be getting back, Meta,” Astral said, standing up. “Come on.” The child followed happily, trotting under the warrior's parasol, and pushing playfully against his side. And as the two made their way home, the clouds parted, revealing a rainbow arcing across the blue sky.

**Author's Note:**

> Little Meta's bat wings are too big for his tiny body, and because he is short and small for the puffball species, he can fit in places he really shouldn't be able to fit in. Of course, sometimes the wings can't fit, and Astral can often tell where Meta is if he sees his wings sticking out of odd places. This shortness also means that Meta loves hiding in high places, as it gives him a "better view of the world", he says.


End file.
